7,825 Abducted, N7.8bn Ransom Paid Directly Indict FG, States — HURIWA

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has described the reported abduction of 7,825 Nigerians and payment of N7.8 billion in ransom within one year as a direct indictment of the federal and state governments over their failure to adequately protect the lives and property of citizens.

The association stated this in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, on Friday, following the latest report by SBM Intelligence titled The Capture of the Kidnap Economy.

According to the report cited by HURIWA, 7,825 people were abducted while 1,142 were killed in 1,713 kidnapping and related incidents between July 2025 and June 2026.

HURIWA described the figures as alarming and unacceptable in a constitutional democracy where protecting lives and property remains one of the fundamental responsibilities of government.

The association called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly to urgently strengthen Nigeria’s legal framework for combating kidnapping and terrorism.

It specifically urged the National Assembly to conclude necessary amendments to counter-terrorism and other relevant laws to ensure that kidnapping linked to terrorism attracts severe punishment, while guaranteeing fair trial, due process and the constitutional right of appeal.

HURIWA also called on state governments to stop treating the enforcement of existing death sentences as a political issue.

The group said where competent courts had imposed capital punishment after due process and all legally available appeals had been exhausted, the law should be allowed to take its course in accordance with the Constitution and applicable legislation.

It argued that certainty and prompt enforcement of lawful punishment for the most heinous crimes could serve as an important deterrent, alongside effective policing, intelligence gathering and prosecution.

The rights group also expressed concern over the continued rehabilitation, deradicalisation and reintegration of persons described as repentant terrorists.

While acknowledging that rehabilitation and deradicalisation could have a place in counter-insurgency policy, HURIWA said persons convicted of serious terrorism offences should not be released or reintegrated without rigorous judicial, security and intelligence assessments.

It warned that no rehabilitation programme should become a revolving door through which dangerous elements return to society without adequate safeguards.

HURIWA called for the immediate deployment of modern technology in the fight against kidnapping and terrorism.

It urged the federal and state governments to invest in drones, satellite surveillance, intelligence-gathering systems, digital forensics, communication interception capabilities and other technologies capable of identifying criminal hideouts, tracking movements and protecting vulnerable communities.